Sir Jonathan Ive's career in pictures

In 2007, Apple released its first smartphone. The iPhone, Ive said, was almost abandoned multiple times after the company struggled to overcome certain design flaws. "We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can't solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number,” he said. “You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin colour and hairdo...that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn’t going to work.”